


Flock

by dreamalittledreamofme



Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Animals, Domestic, Fair Game Week (RWBY), Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23185249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamalittledreamofme/pseuds/dreamalittledreamofme
Summary: Day 2: Domestic!Clover and Qrow, and how they adopted five animals.(Or how five animals adopted them)
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666867
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

Qrow has always been an early bird. It was hard for him to stay asleep in the first place, never trusting where he slept to be safe for long. Always on the lookout for Grimm or anyone Salem might have sent for him. It wasn’t uncommon for him to sleep in a tree for the night. Which meant either the sun woke him up, or he would, unfortunately, fall out of it. At this point, waking up early was just a habit.

Even now, as he wakes up in his own home, safe in the arms of another man, he couldn’t help but wake up with the sun.

He slowly opens his eyes. The faded pink light of the sunrise comes through the curtains and cascades the room. He cranes his head back.

Clover lay peacefully, snoring into Qrow’s ear. Qrow huffed, maybe that’s what woke him up. He fought the urge to hold Clover’s nose shut. Instead, he decided to admire his husband a bit more.

Clover was used to waking up early too. Usually, he was the first one of the Ace Ops out of bed. Years of military training ingrained in him. But now, after everything, after years of not having to deal with threats, with Salem, he grew softer. He learned how to sleep in and to savor the slow moments.

Clover snorted, breaking up Qrow’s thoughts. Okay, that’s it. He couldn’t stay there any longer. He got up slowly, careful not to disturb the man. Clover’s face scrunched up at the lack of warmth. Qrow stood over him and smoothed out the wrinkles on his forehead. He shook his head, a fond smile growing.

Now. Coffee.

Qrow tiptoed down the stairs, turning on the coffee maker and grabbing himself his ‘Best Uncle’ Mug. It was given to him by Ruby and Yang when they were little. Back then, he didn’t have many belongings, but he always made sure to keep this one safe.

Clover had one too, given to him as their wedding present from the girls. The men always fought on who was the real best Uncle, but they both knew it didn’t really matter. 

(Except it did and Qrow was definitely the best Uncle. According to him, at least.)

A small banging on the window caught his attention.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

Qrow opened the window, letting three black birds in. One squawked loudly.

“Hey, calm down. Don’t wake him up.”

The bird just stared him down.

“I’m going! I’m going. Brothers, I spoil you guys too much.”

Qrow goes to the pantry, taking out a small bag of pumpkin seeds. He puts some out on the table. The three birds surround the food, eating it fast.

“I have more. You guys don’t need to scarf it down.” They all ignore him.

Qrow has always had birds surround him. He assumes it’s a side effect for turning into a crow. Although, he has never asked Raven if birds followed her too. He wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t.

These three birds have followed him for a long time now. All of them being crows. He thinks they might be the babies of a nest he saved once. Crows are incredibly loyal and social animals. Qrow had never minded them. He liked having company when he traveled alone. Sometimes they even warned him about oncoming Grimm.

With the seeds gone, one hops on Qrow’s arm, looking down into his coffee. The other two follow and land on his shoulders. He moves his arm and pets the small head.

Much like himself, these crows are old now. They stick around the house and get most of their food from Qrow. He likes to think this is a way to repay them for being one of the few beings that stuck with him through the harsh times. The birds certainly don’t mind the good treatment.

“Well, this is not a sight I thought I’d see this morning.”

Qrow snaps his head up, seeing Clover at the doorway. The birds startle at the movement but two of them just adjust their position and get comfy again. The other one takes off, heading for Clover. He flinches slightly, but the bird just lands on his head, settling into his bed hair.

“Morning.” Qrow grabs the other mug and pours coffee into it. He kisses Clover’s cheek and hands it to him. 

“Mmm. Thanks, babe.” The birds don’t move.

They stare at each other for a moment, before busting out in giggles. This finally startles the crows enough that they fly out the window, done with the unstable perches. One bird stops at the windowsill and squawks indignantly before flying out too.

Qrow erupts into laughter again.

“Guess they were done with us.” As he calms down, he notices the way Clover is looking at him. “What are you thinking about?”

The kitchen is bathed in orange light now. Qrow’s smile is vibrant and he looks so soft in the light. Clover can’t believe he gets to love this man for the rest of his life.

He shakes his head at Qrow. “Nothing.” He says innocently. He looks back towards the window, seeing the birds fly in the distance.

“They are basically pets, aren’t they?”

Qrow steals a kiss from him.

“Yes. But don’t tell them that or they’ll get angry.” Clover laughs into his hand.

\-------

Clover has always been a dog person. From the moment he first saw a dog he’s always wanted one. Sadly, his mother always told him no. That they were too expensive to take care of. And after he got into Atlas Academy, they couldn’t keep animals. He was too busy in the Ace Ops and the campus never allowed them.

Eventually, he forgot about it completely. That is until now.

He stands in the animal shelter, surrounded by dogs, all different types. 

He didn’t really mean to come in here. He was just confused about the sign on the door and decided to come in. He didn’t mean to look at the dogs, every single one of them looking back with hopeful eyes. He certainly didn’t mean to lock eyes with one of them, and instantly fall in love.

No, he didn’t mean to do any of it. But here he was, standing outside his home, his hand holding a leash that connected to a very excited Atlesian (Australian) Shephard. 

Clover looks down at the dog, nervous. The dog cocks her head sideways, tongue falling out of her mouth.

Oh god, she was so cute. How could he resist? He hoped Qrow would fall in love with her charms too.

They had never talked about getting a pet. The closest thing they had was the birds and they only came in the morning and night for food.

Did Qrow even like dogs? He doesn’t seem like a dog person. He seemed more of a cat person. No, that didn’t fit well either. Qrow was just a bird person.

That thought usually would have made Clover laugh, but he was too busy thinking about how Qrow was absolutely going to kill him.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself. If he could face Salem and her henchpeople face on, then he could take Qrow. Yeah, he could do this. He opened the door to the house, letting himself in first so the dog would be shielded by his body.

“Honey, I’m home!” He tried putting on the usual charisma and smile.

Qrow sat on the couch, a few feet away. He didn’t look up from the book in his lap.

“Haha, very funny. Come give me a kiss.” He was met with silence. “Clover?” He finally looks up from the book, eyes questioning.

“Okay, don’t be mad at me.”

“You know that doesn’t usually work ri-”

A loud bark interrupts him. Clover cringes and feels the leash tugging at his hand. Clover opens his eyes slowly to see Qrow, absolutely dumbfounded.

“What- what was that?”

The dog runs in front of Clover. He picks her up to hide his face from Qrow.

“I might have adopted a dog.”

The dog barks softly again. She stares at Qrow with pale blue eyes, her tongue still lolling out the side of her mouth. She doesn’t seem to be bothered with Clover carrying her.

Qrow sets the book down, utterly flabbergasted. 

“Wha-How?”

Clover sets the dog down. “I accidentally went into an animal shelter and fell in love with her and I adopted her.”

“Accidently.” Qrow’s voice was steady. Clover couldn’t get an honest read on him. Qrow stood up from the couch and made his way to the other man.

“Yes.”

The bird took one look at the man and then at the dog. He crouched down to her level. Gently petting her head.

“So, what’s her name?” He shot a smile up at Clover. Clover returned the smile, getting extremely excited.

“You want to keep her?”

“Of course doofus. How could I resist her adorable smile?” She barks again as he rubs down her body. She surges up, licking his face.

Qrow can’t help but giggle. “Okay, okay! Enough.” He gives her a hard stare and she backs down. He pats her head before getting back up again. “You’ve always seemed like a dog person.”

Clover gives him a soft look, before grabbing his waist and kissing him deeply. Qrow melts into the kiss, tilting his head into it. He grips the short strands of Clover’s hair.

Clover pulls back, “I love you.”

Later, when they both get into bed, the dog jumps in with them, laying by their feet. The men cuddle close together, careful not to disturb her.

“So what are you going to name her?”

“Hmm, how about Lucky?” The bird groans.

“I change my mind. You can’t have her if you’re going to name her that.”

Clover lets out a full-bellied laugh. “It’s too late. You’re stuck with her. And with me.”

Qrow rolls his eyes, but his eyes are full of warmth. “We’ll talk about this in the morning.” He scoots closer, wrapping the other man in his arms, and promptly falls asleep.

Clover’s not going to budge on the name.

\-------

After having four animals around the house, Qrow thinks he would be done. That’s enough mouths to feed and things to pet. Lucky takes most of his energy anyway.

But there’s this cat.

He doesn’t really know where this cat came from. Qrow was just inside the house cooking when he heard a meow. He looks around but doesn’t see anything and goes back to cooking. Minutes later, he hears the meow again. He looks around again, and suddenly there’s a cat by his feet.

He takes a step back. The cat stares at him, before meowing loudly again.

“Uh..hi?” He shakes his head. Why is he talking to a cat? And how did this cat get into the house?

He shoes the cat away, getting him out the door. He goes back to cooking.

Then he hears the cat again. Looking down, he sees it by his feet. 

“How?” He stares incredulously at this cat.

The bird takes it out again.

This happens two more times.

Finally, he’s completely exasperated. Qrow puts his hands on his hips and looks down at him. 

“If I give you food, will you leave?”

The cat just stares back at him. Qrow takes a bit of the fish he had been cooking and puts it on the floor next to it.

The cat is extremely fluffy and all black, except for the paws and the tip of the tail, which is white. He scarfs down the food, and bolts out of the kitchen. Qrow attempts to follow him to see how he’s getting in, but as he reaches the living room, the cat has disappeared. 

He shakes his head and continues cooking. He hopes the cat is gone for good.

Unfortunately for him, the cat shows up again the next day. And the next. From then on, he’s always there. Qrow’s pretty sure the smell of the food is what entices the cat in. If only he could find out how the cat gets inside.

It always meows for food, and the moment he’s done eating, he runs away.

Until eventually, he just starts hanging around. He sits while Qrow is cooking, licking his paws or sleeping. At one point, Qrow stops minding. The cat is actually quite cute. And he doesn’t need much. The company reminds him of the birds, but this time there’s no loud squawking. He finds the silence comforting.

Qrow lovingly starts to call him Harbinger, for the sharp nails that have nicked him more than once, and the fact that he’s a black cat.

He buys the cat a bed. They were at the pet shop to get more food for Lucky anyway. And wouldn’t he enjoy sleeping on a bed rather than the hard floor? Qrow goes back a day later to buy toys and proper food.

Clover usually takes Lucky out for a walk before dinner, so he’s only ever heard about Harbinger. The first time they meet is when Clover comes home from work early. Qrow lays on the couch, playing games on his scroll. The cat sleeps on his chest. He lifts his head up to look at Clover but determines he’s not a threat and goes back to sleep. 

“So, we have a cat now?” Qrow puts down the scroll. He looks at the toys strewn around the room and the cat tower in the corner. Finally, he looks at Harbinger, sleeping peacefully.

“We have a cat now.”

\-------

Qrow has always been an early bird. He usually gets up with the sun. Before, it was because he wasn’t safe. He could never trust the area around him. He would wake up to the sun shining in his eyes, the only companionship that greeted him were three small birds.

But now, he wakes up to loud snoring, both from his husband and their dog, which he’s insane to be fond of. He wakes up to cat meowing outside their door, ready to be fed. He wakes to those same three birds, now older.

Soon Qrow will have to get up. He’ll feed Harbinger, Lucky, and the three crows. Harbinger and him will enjoy the silence together until Lucky starts play fighting with him and the birds start chirping in the background. As if they are betting on who would win. He’ll get the coffee started before taking Lucky to meet with Tai and Zwei for their daily walk. He’ll come home to Clover sleepily drinking his coffee and complaining to the birds that Harbinger woke him up by sitting on his face. Qrow will get ready for teaching at Signal, and kiss Clover goodbye.

But right now, he cuddles in Clover’s arms, surrounded by the person and animals he loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you reading! I hope you enjoyed.
> 
> I love the idea of them just accidentally adopting animals. Harbinger is my favorite.
> 
> Comments make me very happy!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silly things I thought of as I wrote it! Like them coming up with a name for the black cat and a vine.

###### Them trying to find a name for this cat:

###### 

“What? Mittens? You named this cat mittens?”

“What’s wrong with mittens? It’s got little white mittens on his paws!” Clover defends himself.

“Yeah, but have you considered how boring that name is?

“Oh yeah? Then what did you name him?”

“Easy. Harbinger.”

“You named a cat after your weapon??”

“Yes. Look at him. He’s deadly.” The cat rolls over, exposing his belly and meowing. Clover gives Qrow a look.

“Plus, he’s a black cat. Those are bad luck charms too.”

“Why don’t we name him something else?”

“Like what?”

Clover thinks for a bit, “What about Horse?”

“HORSE?”

“Yeah! Cause upside down horseshoes are bad luck?”

“No no no wait. Clover. Babe. You think a good name for this CAT is HORSE???”

“Well, then you think of a name!”

“What about Salt or Umbrella?”

“YOU THINK HORSE IS UNACCEPTABLE YET YOU THINK SALT AND UMBRELLA ARE GOOD?”

“THOSE ARE AT LEAST OBJECTS. YOU CAN’T NAME AN ANIMAL BY A DIFFERENT ANIMAL.”

They stare at each other in shock. They were screaming...about a cat’s name. They both burst out laughing. Qrow had to sit down before he fell over. Tears started to appear at the corners of Clover’s eyes.

They sat down by the cat, finally starting to calm down.

Clover goes into pet the cat, but it’s disturbed by all the loud laughing and swats at him. Blood starts coming out of the small cut. He stares down at it.

“Okay, Harbinger is a good name.”

###### Days Later:

###### 

(Like the Printer [Vine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBy3y3iCy2A))

A Grimm has attacked around the house, Qrow bolts out yelling to Clover, “Can you hand me Harbinger?”

Clover throws him the cat.

“Why did you hand me the cat?!!!”

“I thought you wanted the cat!!”

“Why the fuck would I want the cat?????”

###### ALTERNATE ANIMAL:

###### 

Clover buys a horse. He names the horse Clorse. It kills him and steals his life. Qrow doesn't notice. He starts wearing a cowboy hat. The world descends into darkness. Everything in this world is lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clorse chases me in my nightmares. Lieu, who makes most of the Clorse art, has almost inspired me to make an entire fanfic out of it. I'm terrified I might actually do it one day.
> 
> Clorse.


End file.
